As the chill of Autumn and Winter set in, southern comfort foods start sounding very good to me.

At your local grocery store, there is a good chance you will find these gluten free cornbread and chili items, a meal to love, cheaper and healthier than fast food. Preparation time is short at 20 minutes for everything.

I haven’t yet found any canned gluten free chili that I like better than Stagg CLASSIC Chili with Beans. I think some of Stagg Chili have wheat, so make sure to read the label and that you are getting the right one, in this case, the CLASSIC.

With an urgent cornbread craving, I found Hodgson Mill cornbread mix at my neighborhood Safeway market. My husband and I ate all the cornbread muffins I made without delay, so yes, this brand is delicious too.

The meal is easy to make. The chili you just heat up in five minutes on the stove or microwave. The cornbread requires mixing a few ingredients (the mix with egg, milk, oil), scooping into a square pan or muffin tray, and baking. Buttering each muffin cup fully with my finger makes the muffins pop out easily.

[Click on brand name links above for INGREDIENTS on the label.]

* Please note that some chili and cornbread mixes do have wheat or white enriched flour in their ingredients, so always read the ingredients on these canned and boxed foods labels. When it says “Gluten Free” on the label, as these products do, it makes shopping much easier.

I love ravioli and Conte’s Pasta Gluten Free Spinach and Cheese Ravioli definitely meet my requirements for deeee-li-shuzsss ! These are so good. I can close my eyes and feel like I am in an Italian restaurant.

Takes 10 minutes all together. This is the fastest easiest meal for when I am feeling lazy and don’t want to spend much time cooking.

I will teach you a few ways that I prepare them.

First, boil the water. When boiling, put in the ravioli. Stir GENTLY, these ravioli are not sturdy. Keep your eye on them and the water — not too hot and forceful because they easily break open. Remove them as soon as the look like they are going to burst. Takes about 8 minutes. Follow the directions for the first time and adjust to your own stove.

Pictured above is my lemon sage ravioli preparation. I put a swirl of olive oil (and butter, optional) in a small saucepan. Add garlic (chopped or powdered), salt, pepper, and half a lemon squeezed. In this case, I have added some sage leaves I clipped from my plant to my light lemony sauce. It takes a few minutes to heat up. That’s it. Pour it on your ravioli.

An even easier and simpler version is to not cook the above sauce and just put the ingredients directly on the ravioli. One less pan to clean!

Optional Ingredients I add when I have them are:

Chicken (boiled or fried). Broccoli, I toss in the boiling water with the ravioli at the beginning. Shrimp, I toss in the last two minutes with the ravioli. You can fry all kinds of sliced goodies in a sauce pan, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, sausages… and add those ingredients on top of your ravioli. This all natural Cucina & Amore Bruschetta Artichoke spread tastes great heated up and added as a sauce, pictured aside… you can thin it with some cream, butter, or olive oil. Or you can use a classic pre-prepared jar of pesto sauce or tomato sauce — all are easy and great with Conte’s Pasta Ravioli.

With Celiac Disease, gluten, when ingested, affects the digestive tract primarily, with a chain reaction damaging systems from the inside outward to other organs.

Even though skin is technically a different organ separate from the digestive tract, sometimes gluten, wheat, barley, or rye products also affect people’s skin negatively when directly applied. Maybe a person has an allergy, not connected to Celiac Disease. For me, I get itchy and red. If someone has a severe allergic reaction or auto-immune response, they may blister.

If only it was as easy as reading the ingredients, like with food, to avoid the ingredients that are damaging to us personally.

Many lotion and skin products do not fully disclose their ingredients and make me burn and itch. What can we do to keep ourselves safe?

Maia, a dear trusted (and brilliant) friend of mine started her own skincare line called Sweet Science. From her we can learn a lot. Here are some questions I had for her.

1. What inspired you to take the fearless jump into creating face skincare products?

I got into it because I have always been a skincare fanatic. I was a trend shopper for many years. I bought and used EVERYTHING on the market. I got really tired of not getting the results promised on the package. I also was becoming frustrated because I was spending top dollar on “Natural” skincare that went bad very quickly and was also totally ineffective.

2. What are the ingredients that you see in so many lotions and skincare products that make you cringe and why?

Dimethicone is one ingredient that I will not use on my face or my line. It is a silicone and those coat your face for up to 5 days! Silicone is a synthetic polymer derived from a naturally occurring element, silicon. Silicone is very difficult to remove, if not impossible, it just has to wear off. Any ingredient with a “cone” at the end, I do not use those in my line. They are now being connected with tumorous growths. If you avoid them for a couple of weeks, you will be amazed. Your pores shrink, you stop breaking out, the random dry spots clear up, your skin balances out. Its a very deceptive ingredient, silicone.

3. I love your Sweet Science product line because it is honest, fresh, natural, and priced fair. I see that there is wheat germ oil in some of your products. Can you tell me about your products without any wheat, barley, rye, or gluten in them, products that would be safe and of interest to my readers? What are they called and what is their function?

We have a Vitamin C Serum Complex that is absolutely the best! I have friends who are makeup artists at MAC and Tom Ford and they can’t believe the difference it makes. It fades melanoma and discolorations because we use the best Vitamin C (called tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate) and combine it with niacinamide. It totally works!

Yes, I have that one and I love it.

4. How are your products different from similar products?

There is nothing similar to Sweet Science. We are the only brand available that has the actives kept separate. I believe it’s the future of skincare. It’s not a gimmick. It’s the best way to get the best results for your skin.

5. Why are freshly mixed actives important?

Actives are what make the product produce results. Scientists isolate new, great actives all the time and they work! But actives degrade over time when they have been mixed in an aqueous formula, namely water. Big name companies often manufacture products years ahead of time, so by the time you buy it, it’s basically lost all it’s effectiveness. That’s why, with my products, you mix the elements together yourself when you receive them for a longer lasting more effective solution. It takes under 5 minutes and you have a product that serves its function.

6. Since you dove into skincare, what is the most important thing you have learned that you wish everyone knew?

High price doesn’t necessarily mean a better product. I see the most overpriced stuff with terrible ingredients. Just because it comes in an expensive bottle or has some fancy packaging, consumers think it’s going to change their skin for the better.

I recently got some samples from a brand that everyone knows, really expensive and they WILL NOT list their ingredients anywhere. That’s a red flag for sure. But I had to test it. I had to! The stuff was good for a day or so, I looked good, but after about 3 days, I broke out and my skin looked terrible. The product was swimming in dimethicone. I went back to using just my line and my skin went back to normal.

7. What can we do to buy safer cosmetic and skincare products?

We all know we get a better product from the smaller farms who actually care about what they grow and have some accountability to the people. Why shouldn’t you think the same way about your skin?

When you buy from smaller skincare lines, like with your organic local foods, you have access to speak with the owners who are passionate about what they do and want their customers to be well and happy. The smaller the product line, the better the odds of getting a safer more effective product from someone who cares.

Look for skincare products at your local farmers’ markets and local health food stores. Seek products made in your town, or state, or province, or even your own country is a good start. Try to buy products made closer to home, when possible. I know lots of people live in regions where, due to harsh weather or sparse population size, many items have to be imported. Opensky.com is one place I sell my product online. There are many websites that cater to small run businesses.

If you or your guests are intolerant to gluten, wheat, or have Celiac Disease, the new Trader Joe’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is a reliable flour to have in your cupboard, ready to use for any recipe that requires flour.

Not only is this gluten free flour an acceptable and functioning replacement for white flour, I think the taste is superior too.

For the gluten-free love of your life, I suggest you get a delicious Valentine’s Day treat from the Mariposa Bakery. Mariposa Bakery is local to San Francisco and Oakland, but they do mail many items within the United States!

Pictured here are their Valentine’s Day chocolate donuts, distinguished by their sugar heart sprinkles. They taste like Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake or a rich chocolate cupcake. Like any donut, this is more of a dessert than a start-your-day kind of healthy breakfast.

Mariposa also has, on any given day, a wide assortment of cookies and cakes too. You can call and special order for birthdays or other celebrations.

The main thing I buy are the plain frozen pizza crusts that I prepare in full at home; I will write in depth about that in another article.

Mariposa has some great lunch options as well (pizza, beetloaf sandwich, salad, etc). Everything is delicious here. You can’t go wrong.

I came across Mariposa for the first time many years ago when I was getting my old Volvo serviced. Someone had put a Montclair Auto Tech flyer on my Volvo for their autoshop. They turned out to be the most honest, affordable guys, and I got to hang out at the gluten-free bakery next door… and the wine shop one more door over. It was a three-for. Getting a car tune-up had never been so fun!

In those early days, there were not very many customers or employees at Mariposa. It was quiet.

Over the years, a few other competing gluten-free bakeries popped up in the area with high prices and not great products; they came and went.

Meanwhile, Mariposa Bakery blossomed into a beautiful big prosperous business. These days, they are always busy, have lots of friendly employees, and ship out boxes of products too.

They opened up a convenient storefront at The Ferry Building at the end of Market Street in San Francisco, great for commuters and tourists.

Mariposa Bakery has given me many years of joyful eating. Their prices are only slightly above mass-produced foods, and therefore quite reasonable for freshly baked gluten-free food. Since the day I found them, I have felt blessed to have them in my life.

A new gluten free cider jumped off the shelf at me: Possmann Pure Cider from Germany. The name, packaging, and product are in perfect harmony, elegant and simple.

On a white label with silver and gold lettering, Pure Cider’s stylish modern packaging is like a Kubrick futuristic movie or an Apple Macintosh store. Not new, Pure Cider boasts 130 years of heritage. That’s just what I like: old and new, classic with a modern edge.

I feared Pure Cider would be a hard bitter cider that I wouldn’t like, but it turned out to be a nice sweet flavor similar to Martinelli’s non-alcoholic cider. Martinelli’s is what was always given to the kids in my family on holidays, so Pure Cider brings a positive association with its flavor.

Gluten Free Possmann Pure Cider has 5% alcohol.

The bottle reads: “Simply pure enjoyment from the rich flavor of German apples ripened for the full summer, then picked, pressed and fermented to cider according to the traditional Possmann recipe. Cheers from Frankfurt. ”

I am not sure where you can find Pure Cider in the USA. It is probably easier to find in Europe. It immediately sold out at my store. It is a bit expensive at $9.99, as it has a long journey to make to get to California. At $2.50 a bottle, it is still cheaper than buying a drink at the bar.

If you can find it, Possmann Pure Cider is a nice light gluten free alcoholic beverage to have at your holiday and New Year’s Eve parties. Plus, Pure Cider will look nice next to the champagne and confetti.

As you quest for the perfect gluten free English Muffin, I will help you by comparing the two gluten free English Muffin brands, Glutino and Food for Life, to Thomas’ English Muffins (the holy grail of English Muffins for Americans).

Glutino’s English Muffins have a yellow-orange color and when cut open, look like a fluffy light bread. But if you close your eyes, the light taste and texture in the mouth is more similar to Thomas’ English Muffin than the Food for Life brand.

The Food for Life brand of gluten free English Muffin, I enjoy, but I know it is not for everyone. It is a heavier bread and a more pasty taste and texture. The Food for Life brand looks just like a Thomas’ English Muffin, but does not taste like one. As I said, I like it, but it is not for everyone.

The Glutino brand is more of a crowd pleaser, but the ingredients are less healthy.

When it comes to gluten free organic flours, as Food for Life uses, the flavor result can be unique and an acquired taste.

Both English Muffins require some skills to defrost and toast to just the right taste. If the Food For Life English Muffin is not heated long enough, it tastes really bad. So don’t give up on it, maybe you need to warm it longer. Both brands I defrost in the oven on Bake 375. The Glutino brand, after defrosted, I cut open and toast with butter on Broil. The Food for Life brand, being heavier and thicker, tastes better closed with butter inserted, otherwise, it just gets too hard.

I have tried a variation of delicious organic toppings. Butter. Butter and cream cheese. Butter and a fried egg. Butter, cream cheese, avocado, and smoked salmon.

SUMMARY: If all you want is gluten free and good taste, go with the Glutino English Muffin brand. If you are nostalgic for the English Muffin look, want to be as healthy as you can be, and don’t mind trying new flavors, go with the organic FoodforLife brand.

Manifesting thoughts into the physical world is a wonderful thing, especially when it comes to gluten free yogurt-covered pretzels.

I was walking through the grocery story, eyeing some yummy looking yogurt pretzels in the bulk bins area, but I knew I couldn’t have them.

Lo and behold, when I came to the snacks and cookies isle, there it was, my very own gluten free yogurt pretzels put out by Glutino!

Glutino makes lots of tasty sweets. I’d say their sweet stuff rocks this world. They have all kinds of crazy good cookies. That is what Glutino does best.

The yogurt pretzels hit the spot.

Pretzels are junk food, my dear friends, and eating them in excess will cause weight gain, so don’t make a habit out of eating these. The yogurt gluten free pretzels are perfect for a party or special treat.

If it is you alone purchasing these bad boys, I recommend putting them in a jar to keep fresh so you don’t feel the need to eat them all at once.

** TIP: Recycled tomato sauce glass jars are excellent for getting your flours out of the plastic bags and into glass for safer storage and easier usage. Makes it more attractive to look at as well. **